Baking with Dorie: Remarkably Good Brownies

I bought Dorie’s Cookies for my friend Lili for the holidays this year to celebrate her love of baking. When the book came in the mail though, I was so taken by the photos and the anecdotes that came with each recipe that I decided to get the book for myself as well. Then I thought: I should make my way through this book — cookie by cookie, bar by bar — and spread the sugary love.

These brownies are interesting — all cocoa powder (so yes, in this case the quality of your cocoa powder matters. Let’s be honest, I used my Trader Joe’s cocoa powder, and it worked out beautifully, but I’m sure if I used Valhrona cocoa powder, it would have been even more magical. But, I gotta work with what I got). I was a little put off initially by just how much sugar the recipe called for, but surprisingly I didn’t find the final product overly sweet. Perhaps the bitterness of the cocoa and the sugar balance each other out? Either way, it worked.

The texture is chewy on the outside with a fudgy-chewy center. If you are looking for cake-y brownies, this is not your recipe. If you’re looking for simple, fudgy brownies, this is a great go to.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Butter and coat a 9×13 inch baking pan with cocoa powder. Line the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.

Get all your ingredients together. Sift your flour and your cocoa powder together in a bowl.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar and the butter and the salt for 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides intermittently to make sure it all gets mixed. Then, add in the vanilla. Then switch to the balloon whisk attachment, and put the mixer on medium-high. Add in all the eggs, and mix for 5 minutes at that speed.

When the mixture has doubled in size approximately, take a flexible spatula and mix in the dry ingredients (yourflour and cocoa). When it’s all mixed, scrape it into your pre-prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes.

I rotated by pan at around 20 minutes. When it’s done a toothpick will come out cleanish when inserted in the middle. Allow it to cool on a wire rack in the pan. Then use a butter knife to cut the brownies into squares, and viola! You’ll have remarkable brownies.